Little Brothers
by SamuraiSal1
Summary: Because they've both lost some things that were very, very important to them. Historical.


I know I promised something more fluffy, but I'm sick and therefore unable to stop myself from writing something between angst, hurt-comfort and friendship. So um hopefully you don't hate me too much for this. However it actually lets me apply my forte of Prussian history so I'm happy about that.

* * *

It was 1783 and Prussia had been tending to Old Fritz for the last few hours, talking and saving the conversations in his head because he knew the old man didn't have much time left, knew that whatever time he could get with him would be precious.

But there was a sudden commotion a few rooms away, loud enough to disturb Prussia and Old Fritz both.

"Do you want me to check it out?" Prussia joked, because he knew that neither one of them wanted to leave, not yet, but to his surprise, Frederick nodded.

"May as well," he rasped. "It sounds like someone broke in. And if the guards can't handle him…"

Prussia chuckled. "Pretty sure you taught these guards better than that, but if they really require my awesome presence, I won't keep them waiting." He grinned, giving Old Fritz's hands a pat before making his way over to the door. "Be riiiight back," he assured the old man, who just rolled his eyes and told him to get on with it.

Once Prussia had gone through a few rooms—had followed where he thought the sound had come from—he was about ready to give up, to assume that the guards really did handle it.

But from his left, and closer than it had been in Old Fritz's rooms, he heard a shout—"No! Let me talk to him, let me talk to him, _please_!"

And Prussia recognized that voice, even recognized the desperation attached to it. So against his better judgement, he hurried over to the source of the commotion, and once he'd drawn apart the curtain, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt why the intruder had come.

"England," he said, not betraying his sympathy. Not yet, at least. "What brings you to my home?"

England just struggled against the guards again, not meeting Prussia's eyes.

Prussia frowned and then, once again, against his better judgement, said, "It's all right, just let him up. He and I need to have a… a discussion. Go attend to Fritz or the castle door or make sure that the rest of the German states are behaving. Something useful." When they didn't automatically move, he snapped, "Now. And don't bother leaving any weapons behind, you idiots. It's an insult if you think I can't take this idiot if he tries something."

When the guards finally rushed off, Prussia couldn't help but sigh. "What are you here for, kid?"

"You know why. Don't make me say it," England growled, but he still didn't meet the Prussian nation's eyes, still didn't bother to put any real effort into coming or going.

"You're the one that was asking to talk to me," Prussia pointed out. "And even if I did know why you were here, I'm not going to say anything unless you actually bother to—"

"You were right," England said suddenly, interrupting the other nation. "You were right. _God_, you were right. And I never should have—never should have laughed."

Prussia sighed, then glanced wearily over to the sitting room. This was going to be a long talk, and they both knew it. "C'mon, let's get you some tea or whatever it is you drink nowadays." And he led them over to the sitting room, motioning to the couch, which England sunk into without much prelude.

England laughed, a dry, hollow sound, much unlike the triumphant ones Prussia had heard when the Brit first started creating his empire. "I prefer drinking scotch now, actually."

"Sucks to be you, then," Prussia said with a grin. "You're not getting drunk tonight. Not on my watch, anyways. I don't really feel like having to deal with an even _mopeier_ you than usual."

England scowled, but didn't bother arguing.

"You came here for a reason," Prussia finally said, not wanting to drag this further out. "Just talk already. You're interfering with my Fritz time, you know?"

There was a slight pause, and finally England cracked. "The Middle Ages. Holy Roman Empire. He—He died, and you were depressed about it for ages. And I laughed when you told me. I said I'd give anything for any of my brothers to drop dead."

"Yeah, I remember that," Prussia said, frowning. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"I'm sorry." England closed his eyes, sinking further back into the chair. "I'm sorry. I didn't k now—Didn't know how much it would hurt, losing someone that important to you."

Prussia sighed. "Yeah, you didn't. That's why you said it. You can't take things back by apologizing, but it's alright. It's alright. Besides, I'd say karma paid you back in full already, didn't it?"

England's eyes snapped open, fury taking over for just a split second, before he realized that it was exactly what Prussia was trying to do. He slumped back again, scrubbing a hand over his face. "Yes. It did," he snapped. "And America might actually still be here with me if you didn't personally assist him."

Prussia rolled his eyes. "Look, the kid wasn't doing so hot. It was literally one Prussian dude, not even a real soldier. When I found out what he was doing, I figured it was for a good cause. Besides, it's not like you really needed the kid, right?"

"It wasn't about needing him, it was about having to watch him break away," England muttered. "It was about—God, do you even know how much trouble I got into with my king for always trying to visit?"

"Yeah, but your king was an idiot," Prussia said with a shrug. "Besides, if you'd really cared enough about the kid, you would've actually explained to him, in person, why the taxes were important, et cetera." He shrugged again, waving a hand. "Anyways. I'm gonna go see if I have some tea," he said, already walking into the kitchen. "Maybe you wanna calm down while I'm busy or something."

The sitting room was silent for a while, before there was a rustle of fabric and a few footsteps. After a bit of hesitation, England finally poked his head into the kitchen, still sulking. "You don't make tea the right way, idiot."

"Yeah, well, either this or watch you sneak some more of the juice in that handy-dandy vial you got there." Prussia smirked as England's hand rushed up to hide the alcohol he'd brought with him. "Nah, it's fine, just don't actually drink any. I don't want to house more people than necessary here."

"Old Fritz doesn't like loud guests, huh?" England asked. "He getting sensitive in his old age?"

Prussia slammed his palms on the counter. "Don't you dare talk about him like that. I don't care how bitter you are, you are not insulting my king. He doesn't have that long left anyways, and I swear to _Gott_ if you don't shut up about it I will end you."

England snorted, clearly unrepentant. But he didn't make another noise for the next few minutes, much less say something else insulting, so Prussia didn't bother trying to strike up conversation again.

Finally, the tea was ready, so Prussia poured some into a few cups for them. England accepted his with a grudging "Thanks," and they moved back into the sitting room, re-occupying their respective chairs.

"So. The Holy Roman Empire," England said, taking another sip of his tea. "How close were you two, exactly?"

Prussia glared at him, knowing good and well that England was trying his damndest to make sure ended the night as bitter as him. "He was my little brother," Prussia snapped. "How close do _you_ think?"

"Someone's defensive," England hummed, trying to sound pleasant. "I suppose it doesn't matter in the end, though. You got him back, didn't you?"

"They may as well be the same person," Prussia said with a sigh. "They might be, given how the whole 'Nation' thing works. They occupy pretty much the same amount of land, anyways."

"So there you have it," England said, sounding curiously bitter. "You end up happy in the end, and I'm never going to get America back. Brilliant, bloody brilliant. What makes you so much better than me, anyways?"

"Now that's just rude." Prussia took a sip of his own cup, chuckling. "Besides, who ever said you wouldn't get America back? Maybe not as a colony, but stranger things have happened."

"Really?" England scoffed. "You're one to talk, aren't you? You're getting your happy ending."

Prussia's eyes hardened a bit, and he leaned over a bit closer. "You don't know my history, do you?" He hissed. "I lived by Livonia for the first part of my life. I was peaceful—weak. Then the Teutonic Knights stole me. I was just a little kid. They tried to kill me who knew how many times, but when they realized they couldn't—realized that I was a nation, they decided to just turn me into them."

England stayed curiously quiet, and Prussia had a feeling he was reflecting on his own childhood; being conquered by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons. He found that he didn't feel any pity for him, and continued on with his story.

"So they assimilate me. Take away my original culture. My language dies out, and they won't let me call myself Prussia anymore. They've officially made me into them, a warrior. I was strong, but by the time I'd impressed them and managed to keep myself protected, it was too late. I didn't care about my old culture at all anymore. I was just the representation of the Teutonic Knights. And I learned something. If I just assimilate, I'll never die out. If I can adapt, I'll stay alive." He paused, taking a shuddering breath. "But you know? No one deserves a life like that."

"What did you do after?" England asked, swirling around the tea leaves in his cup, not daring to make eye-contact.

"Me? Ha, I finally managed to start calling myself Prussia again, only by that time I was living at Poland and Lithuania's house. Wasn't that long ago, actually. Old Fritz finally managed to break me out, let me just be my own country. And then…"

"You're avoiding talking about your little brother."

"Yeah, actually. It's not really a fun topic," Prussia said with a snort.

"But you're still getting him back in the end," England snapped. "It's not fair."

"You didn't appreciate him as much as you should have for years. And then he was gone," Prussia said, shrugging. "Why start moping now, if you stopped caring years before?"

"I didn't stop caring!" England shouted. "How are you so bloody insensitive? I just signed the Treaty of Paris, you arse!"

"Yeah. You did. But it doesn't help anything to stay stuck on it for forever. You need to move on, kid. You need to figure out that you have other colonies. There's that kid up north of America, too, isn't there? You won him from France, and you might as well pay him some attention every once in a while."

"And if he leaves me, too?" England asked, so quietly that Prussia almost didn't hear him.

"Then you move on from that, too. You adapt. You learn to move on." Prussia took a sip of his tea, effectively finishing it off. "You learn how to be strong again. And when an opportunity to love someone again presents itself, you take it. You don't get bitter. You get stronger from it. You learn."

England just stared at him for a while, then absently set his cup on the side table. "Right. Well, I have to go if that's all the life lessons you're willing to give."

And he turned to go, already starting the walk to the front door, but Prussia grabbed his wrist, forcing him to slow down.

"Don't waste your life. You don't know how many years I spent wishing that I'd been able to save him. I didn't realize that he would have wanted me to be happy until it was almost too late," Prussia whispered, fingers clenching almost painfully into the other nation's wrist. "I don't care how much America might seem to hate you. He'll want you back in his life eventually. It won't be like how it was before, but he'll at least want to be… want to be more than just acquaintances. So don't waste your life waiting for him to go back to how he was when he was young. Just be strong for whenever he wants to move on from that chapter."

England stilled and then, after a moment of tense silence asked, "And when he does?"

"Don't take him for granted," Prussia said, almost choking on the last word. "Don't make the same mistake twice. Because sometimes you won't get a second chance." He swallowed, hard. "Even if—Even if Germany does officially become a country, even if I get a second chance in that respect, he will never remember what the Holy Roman Empire really was. He'll never know that it might have been him, in another life. He'll never know that we were close back then. So I'll never get to make it up to him. But you—you still have a chance. You can make things right. He won't be your colony anymore, but you still mean something to him. Germany looks at me like I'm a stranger, sometimes. America will always recognize you."

And with that, Prussia finally released England's wrist, bringing up both hands to hide his face.

England sighed. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"I'm sorry for yours," Prussia said, still not showing his face. He didn't stop him with England turned to go, only turned around and walked, slowly, back into the room that Old Fritz was waiting in.

In his absence, it seemed as though Frederick had fallen asleep. Prussia sat down on the bed beside him, silent, and waited for him to wake.

* * *

Sometime later, there was a knock on the door. Prussia glanced up, allowing himself a soft, "Come in," so as to not wake his king (who seemed to be needing more and more rest these days).

"Big brother?" a young Germany asked. "You didn't say goodnight."

"I—I didn't?" Prussia asked, feeling his heart clench. "I'm sorry. C'mere, kid."

Germany looked a bit put out at being called a kid, but crossed over to his older brother anyways. "It's not that I'm worried, or anything. You just didn't say good night. And I heard that England person come in a while ago…"

"You didn't eavesdrop, did you?" Prussia asked, forcing a laugh.

"No," Germany said, indignant. Then, "Well, maybe a little. Who was the Holy Roman Empire?"

Prussia chuckled, pressing a kiss to the boy's forehead. "How about I tell you when you're a little older, huh?"

Germany stared at him for a minute, and Prussia could almost see the gears turning in his head. But all Germany said was, "Alright. Goodnight, big brother."

"Yeah, see you in the morning, kid."

Prussia watched Germany walk out, and was a bit startled to hear Old Fritz ask, in that raspy voice he'd developed in his old age, "You really miss him, don't you?"

There was a beat of silence, and then, "Yeah. Yeah, I really do."

Old Fritz just smiled, lifting his arm to pat his nation's hand. "I have a feeling that you'll get to keep him, though. He'll stick around, I think."

Prussia grinned. "I'll make sure of it. I don't care if I fall—He's going to stay, for as long as I can help it."

Old Fritz just sighed and put his head back on the pillow. "Mm, yes. However, I believe you owe him a bedtime story. I may as well get some more rest, but you have some memories to make, don't you?"

Prussia lifted up the king's hand, pressing a kiss to the knuckles, then gently repositioned it back on the bed. "I'll go do that. That old Rapunzel one, I think. He'd like that," he said, smiling to himself as he stood, walking towards the door. "Have a nice rest, Fritz!"

* * *

Historical notes:

Frederick the Great died of old age in 1785, and this story takes place in 1783. So yes, he'd be pretty old around this time, hence him being portrayed as, well, old.

Germany had already started to unify at this time period, but it wouldn't fully unify until Otto von Bismarck became Prime Minister, mainly owing it to the western German states' fear of France under Napoleon and later, Napoleon the third.

As for Prussia's history, yes, it's true: Prussia was originally further north, right up by the Baltic nations, Estonia and Latvia (who were at that time united and called Livonia). The Teutonic Knights actually conquered that area, renaming it the Teutonic Order. Given that we are not shown the pre-Teutonic Knights' Prussia, it's my headcanon that Prussia was assimilated and forced to become the representation of the Teutonic Knights. However, after the Teutonic Knights had gained quite a bit of land, they were fairly weak financially, and to gain more power, they united with Poland-Lithuania. It was Frederick the Great that broke away, making Prussia a true nation once more. Following this, Prussia later became united with the rest of Germany (despite having Baltic origins), though it remained the leading power upon unification.

England's history is a bit of a jumbled mess, as well, given its Anglo-Saxon origins and Roman invasion. I'd offer a history lesson on that, too, but unfortunately I don't know much of England's history, aside from during Medieval times when it was already pretty much unified and settled and everything.

And, yes, it's actually canon that Prussia aided America in his Revolution. It's in one of the Christmas specials, and Prussia actually uses a riding crop. Interesting, eh? But it was actually really only one man who visited the America during this time. He claimed to be a Prussian military general and a baron but he was really only a fairly poor man who wanted to see America succeed. He employed Prussian military tactics to make American soldiers shape up (and stop using their bayonettes to roast sausages… eesh). His name was Frederick von Steuben. Look him up, 'cause he was pretty awesome.

Rapunzel was also an old German tale, but rest assured it wasn't exactly like the way Disney portrays it... some versions were really, really freaking scary. Hopefully Prussia had one of the happier versions to tell his li'l bro, eh?

Anyways, hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review!


End file.
